Electrical controlling apparatus.



O. H. & A. F. PIEPER.

ELECTRICAL CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 1111111.15, 1911.

1,01 1,240. Patented De@.12,1911.

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ELECTRICAL CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 6, 1911.

Patented Deo. 12, 1911.

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ELECTRICAL GONTROLLING APPARATUS.

AIPLIGATION FILEE MAR. 6, 1911.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

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Suva/wko@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR H. PIEPER AND ALPHONSE F. PIEPER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

ELECTRICAL CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

Application led March 6, 1911. Serial No. 612,558.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OSCAR H. PIEPER and ALPHONSE F. PIEPER, both of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Controlling Apparatus; and we do hereby declare the following to bc a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specication, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

The invention relates to devices for controlling electric motors, especially those employed to operate dental apparatus, though capable of other uses and has for its object to provide means whereby all of the parts are separate and may be readily removed for the purpose of cleaning or repairing, being securely held in operative position by a simple fastening device.

The invention has for a further object the provision of an improved construction for starting, stopping, reversing, and controlling the speed of a motor by means of an oscillating switch-arm actuated by the operator, whereby the operating-lever may be under constant tension and held in desired adjusted position by the operator, or may be automatically held in any one of its adjustments.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is aA vertical sectional view of a controller with the coverplate in position; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the support for the switch contacts, showing the switch contact plate in position thereon; Fig. 3 is a bottom view, in elevation, of the support for the switch contacts, and the casing for the resistance coils carried thereby; Fig. 4 is a bottom view, in elevation, showing the wire outlet bushing positioned in the casing, the bottom of the cas-- ing being removed to show the parts more plainly; Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of the outlet bushing, with the wires secured in position; Fig. 6 is a detail view, in section,

of one of the plug connections; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the controller, a portion of the cover plate being broken away, and showing the controller-operating lever, and the spring-operated arms cooperating therewith; Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view on the line Sx-SX of Fig. 7, with parts in elevation; Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the controller, with the cover plate removed, showing the controller-operating lever in one of its adjusted positions; Fig. l() is a detail view, in section, of the supporting plate for the controlleroperating lever, with the spring operated arms in elevation, and Fig. 11 is a detail sectional view of one of the spring contact members carried by the contact-arm.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several iigures indicate the same parts.

The main frame or casing of the controller embodies a metallic frame or ring l, having at its upper end and on opposite sides the shoulders 2, upon which is fastened the cover plate 3, allowing spaces at the sides for the controlling lever Li, the latter being provided at its ends with pedals or operating portions 5. The frame or ring l is provided interiorly with flanges 6 having suitable openings therein. The support for the contacts, in the present embodiment, comprises a spider 7 having a central boss 8 to which the contact plate is attached, and upwardly extending shoulders 9 at its outer edge. Arranged on the underside of the shoulders 9 are suitable pins or lugs 10 arranged to engage the openings in the flanges 6, and by which the supporting frame for the contacts is locked against rotation in the casing. The resistance coils for the controller are suitably arranged within a casing l1 which is secured to the bottom of shoulders 9 by means of lugs l2.

Arranged in an opening at the bottom of the frame or ring l, is a removable wire outlet bushing 13 provided with an inwardly extending shoulder 14 on its upper side, said shoulder having a lug l5 attached thereto, which latter is adapted to engagel the inner wall of the frame or ring l, so as to prevent removal of the bushing outwardly from the casing. The wires are held in position, relative to the outlet bushing.

by means of strap 1G, having ends 17 eX- tending through openings in the shoulder let, and held by the nuts 1S. rlhe shoulder le is provided on its inner side with a beveled face 19, arranged to be engaged by a spring arm Q0 which is carried by the casing l1, and adapted to hold the outlet bushing in proper position within the casing.

The shoulders 9 are provided on their upper edges with suitable pins or lugs 2i. rhe controller-operating lever, in the present embodiment, is pivoted to the plate 2Q which is provided at its outer edge with openings arranged to engage the pins or lugs Q1 on the shoulders of the contactsupporting frame. T he controller-operating lever 1t, which as stated, is pivoted to the plate 22, is mounted on shaft Q3, the shaft carrying at its lower end a contact arm 2l, to which are attached the contact members for engagement with the contacts 25.

in devices of this character, it has been found desirable to have all the parts separate, and to mount them so that they may readily be removed for the purpose of cleaning or repairing, and at the same time, in such a manner that they may all be held in operative position by a simple and readily attached securing device, and to this end, in the embodiment herein illust 1ated, the cover plate 3 is provided with downwardly extending shoulders 2G, which are arranged to engage the top of plate The cover plate being secured to the frame or ring l, thus retains all of the parts in their proper position, while permitting quick removal upon detaching the cover plate. The contact. supporting frame is positioned within the casing and held against rotation, while it serves, at once, to hold the wire outlet bushing in its proper relation, and preventing movement of the latter inwardly. Positioned upon the contact supporting frame is the plate to which the controlleroperating lever is pivoted, the plate being held in interlocking engagement with the cont-act supporting frame therebeneath, and the cover plate engages the last mentioned plate and so serves to lock all of the elements.

In using the controller-operating lever, it is sometimes desirable to have it automatically held in any one of its adjust-ments, without necessitating that the operator maintain it in such position, and at other times it is preferable that it be entirely under the control of the operator, so that it must be held in adjusted position, and to this end, there are provided two alternative pairs of spring-operated arms, these being so relatively positioned that one or the other set may be moved to controlling position and not be interfered with by the position of the set in non-operative position. To this end, in the present embodiment, there are provided a lower pair of spring-operated arms having at their upper ends the inclined portions 2S. Adjacent to these inclined portions, the arms are curved outwardly, relatively to the controller-operating lever, as at 29, such curve being adjacent to the are described by the contact point of the projection 30 carried by the controlleroperating lever. Then the projection 30 makes its initial engagement with arm 2T, the latter is moved upwardly a trille, against tl e tension of spring 3l, and thereafter, the curved portion 29 of the arm is adjacent to the path of movement of projection 30, and thus serves to hold the pro-- jection, and controller-operai'ing lever, in any one of the desired positions of adjustment. Positioned above the arms 2T, and pivoted at the same points, are spring controlled arms 32, provided with inclined converging surfaces 33, the inclination of the surfaces being so related to the pivotal points of the levers and to the arc of rotation of the projection 30, that the pressure of the spring tends to return the controlleroperating lever to normal central position. This tendency is very slight and only sutlicient to cause such action when the operator releases the controller-operating lever, and only a slight pressure is required to advance the lever to any of its positions of adjustment. The lower spring operated arms 27 are provided, each with a pair of openings arranged to cooperate with corresponding pairs of openings in the upper spring controlled arms 32, set screws 3l, or other convenient means being employed to hold the upper pair of arms in one or the other position relative to the lower pair, according to the form of control desired. lhen the upper pair of spring controlled arms are adjusted, as shown in Fig. 9, the curved surfaces of the lower spring controlled arms are free to act on the project-ion 30, and retain the controller-operating lever in any one of its adjusted positions, and if itl is desired to have the controlleroperating lever under spring tension sufficient to return it to normal position at all times, the upper pair of arms are moved inwardly to the second position on the lower pair of arms, and are secured so as to permit the inclined converging surfaces 33 to act upon the projection 30.

Considerable ditliculty has been experienced in mechanisms of this character, in furnishing a tight fitting, removable, and yieldable connection between the electric wires and the contact plate, and to obviate this, there is provided a plug, which, in the present instance, embodies an internally threaded collar carrying a sleeve 3G split ,longitudinally to form yieldable arms, and

provided at its lower end with an inwardly projecting flange 37. The end of the wire is secured to the terminal 38 having a transversely extending groove adapted to engage the flange 37 of the sleeve, and hold the parts together. In this manner, a very strong connection is provided between the yieldable sleeve and the terminal, permitting the latter to be removed, when desired, but serving to prevent effectually, any accidental removal.

In order to furnish a positive, but yieldable connection between the contact arm and the contacts, there has been provided a contact member, comprising in this embodiment of the invention, a collar 39 having a threaded portion by which it is secured to the contact arm 24. Slidably mounted within the collar 39 is a sleeve 40, provided with a shoulder which coperates with a corresponding shoulder on the collar to limit the downward movement of the sleeve. A contact piece 4l is universally mounted on the end of the sleeve 40, and is cup-shaped to afford a lubricating space 42, the contact piece having attachment to the sleeve 4() by means of a rivet 43. Threaded to the upper end of the collar 39 is a cap or cover 44 and arranged between the bottom of sleeve 40 and the cap or cover, is an expansion coil spring 45, which serves, normally, to force the sleeve to its lowermost position, and affords a yieldable connection between the contact piece and the cooperating contact.

It has been found in devices of this character, where a spring is employed, that a considerable amount of the current passes through the spring by reason of loose connections in the other parts, and this serves to quickly destroy the effectiveness of the spring. To obviate this difliculty, the cap or cover 44 is provided with a downwardly extending plug or projection 4G in contact with the spring so that if current starts through the spring, it will pass through only a small portion of the same, going at once into the projection 46, and thus having no determinable effect on the spring.

le claim as our invention:

l. In a controller, the combination with a casing, of a removable support for the switch contacts and resistance elements, a plate positioned above the support, a controller-operating lever pivoted in the plate, and a coverplate secured to the top of the casing and adapted to hold the parts in operative position.

2. In a controller, the combination with a casing, of a conductor outlet bushing detachably mounted in the casing, a removable support for the switch contacts and resistance elements, a plate positioned above the support, a controller-operating lever pivoted on the plate, and a coverlate secured to the top of the casing and adapted to hold the parts in operative position.

3. In a controller, t-he combination with a casing, of a conductor outlet bushing detachably mounted in the casing, a removable support for the switch cont-acts and resistance elements in engagement with the outlet bushing, a plate positioned above the support, a controller-operating lever pivoted on the plate, and a cover plate secured to the top or' the casing and adapted to hold the parts in operative position.

4. In a controller, the combination with a casing, of a conductor outlet bushing detachably mounted in the casing, a removable support for the switch cont-acts and resistance elements provided with a member contacting with a portion of the outlet bushing, a plate positioned above the support, a controller-operating lever pivoted on the plate, and a cover plate secured to the top of the casing and adapted to hold the parts in operative posit-ion.

5. In a controller, the combination with a casing, of a conductor outlet bushing detachably mounted in the casing, a removable support for the switch contacts and resistance elements, said support being interlockingly positioned in t-he casing to prevent rotation and provided with a member contacting with a portion of the outlet bushing, a plate interlockingly positioned on the support, a controller-operating lever pivoted on the plate, and a cover-plate in engagement with the plate and attached to the casing.

6. In a controller, t-he combination with a casing, of a conductor outlet bushing detachably mounted in the casing, flanges within the casing, a support for the switch contacts and resistance elements having interlocking engagement with the iianges and carrying a member abutting the outlet bushing, a plate interlockingly positioned on the support, a controller-operating lever pivoted on the plate, and a cover-plate in engagement with the plate and attached to the casing.

7. In a controller, the combination with a pivoted lever having a projection thereon and contacts controlled by the lever, of pivoted opposing spring-operated arms having curved surfaces with which the projection on the lever coperates to retain the lever in any adjusted position, said curved surfaces lying adjacent to the path defined by the contacting point of the projection on the lever.

S. In a controller, the combination with a pivoted lever having a projection thereon and contacts controlled by the lever, of pivoted, opposing spring-operated arms having curved surfaces with which the projeetions so as to place one or the other pairs tion on the lever cooperates to retain the of arms in Cooperating relation with the pro- 10 lever in any adjusted position, additional jeetion on the lever.

pivoted, opposing spring-operated arms liav- OSCAR H. PIEPER.

ing ogposing converging surfaces eoperat- ALPHONSE F. PIEPER.

ing` with the lever, one pair of arms being supported by the other pair, und means for securing them together in either of two posi- Vit-nesses G. VILLARD RICH, NELSON Corr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

